Listen, O isles,
unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The
Lord hath called me from the womb; from the
bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my
name.
02 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and
made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he
hid me;
03 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
04 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have
spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet
surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work
with my God.
05 And now, saith the Lord that formed me from
the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again
to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall
I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God
shall be my strength.
06 And he said, It is a light thing that thou
shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of
Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I
will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles,
that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of
the earth.
07 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel,
and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to
him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of
rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also
shall worship, because of the Lord that is
faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he
shall choose thee.
08 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time
have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have
I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give
thee for a covenant of the people, to establish
the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate
heritages;
09 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go
forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew
yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and
their pastures shall be in all high places.
10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither
shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that
hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the
springs of water shall he guide them.
11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my
highways shall be exalted.
12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo,
these from the north and from the west; and these
from the land of Sinim.
13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and
break forth into singing, O mountains: for the
Lord hath comforted his people, and will have
mercy upon his afflicted.
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14 But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and
my Lord hath forgotten me.
15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she
should not have compassion on the son of her
womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget
thee.
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of
my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers
and they that made thee waste shall go forth of
thee.
18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold:
all these gather themselves together, and come to
thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt
surely clothe thee with them all, as with an
ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride
doeth.
19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the
land of thy destruction, shall even now be too
narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they
that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou
hast lost the other, shall say again in thine
ears, The place is too strait for me: give place
to me that I may dwell.
21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath
begotten me these, seeing I have lost my
children, and am desolate, a captive, and
removing to and fro? and who hath brought up
these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had
they been?
22 Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift
up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my
standard to the people: and they shall bring thy
sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be
carried upon their shoulders.
23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and
their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow
down to thee with their face toward the earth,
and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt
know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be
ashamed that wait for me.
24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or
the lawful captive delivered?
25 But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of
the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of
the terrible shall be delivered: for I will
contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I
will save thy children.
26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with
their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with
their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all
flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour
and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
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